Kei Nishikori reaches new milestone at French Open

Play had to be suspended at the French Open when a long rectangular side panel fell on to the crowd at Roland Garros.

Three spectators were injured after a large piece of metal came down in high winds on Court Philippe Chatrier during the quarter-final between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and Kei Nishikori of Japan.

Kei Nishikori reached another milestone on Sunday, becoming the first Japanese man in more than 80 years to advance to the quarterfinals at the French Open.

The fifth-seeded Nishikori, who has yet to drop a set at this year’s tournament, progressed to the last eight at the clay-court Grand Slam for the first time with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory of Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia on Sunday.

At the U.S. Open, Nishikori became the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final. He’s also the only Japanese man to be ranked in the top 10 of the ATP world rankings.

Now he’s following in the footsteps of Jiro Satoh, who got to the semifinals of the French Open in 1931 and 1933.

“It’s always a lot to make the new history,” said Nishikori, who will play in his fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal. “Especially for Japanese, Asian, you know, the clay is not the best surface for us. Now, I’m trying to make a new step. I hope I can keep going like this on clay court.”

After defending his Barcelona title and reaching the semifinals in Madrid during the buildup to the French Open, the fast-moving Nishikori has been impressive in Paris so far. He also benefited from extra rest this week after his third-round opponent withdrew with an injury.